Looking ahead

The Volvo Ocean Race skippers give their thoughts on the forthcoming leg to Auckland via Hobart

The press conference for the next leg of the Volvo Ocean Race took place in Sydney yesterday. Here are the views from the eight skippers taking part:

GK - Gunnar Krantz - SEB
KS - Kevin Shoebridge - TYCO
GD - Grant Dalton - AMER SPORTS ONE
JK - John Kostecki - ILLBRUCK CHALLENGE
LM - Lisa MacDonald - AMER SPORTS TOO
KF - Knut Frostad - DJUICE
JF - Jez Fanstone - NEWS CORP
NM - Neal MacDonald - ASSA ABLOY

Q: What are your feelings on the pit stop in Hobart?
LM: It will be quite interesting to take part in the Hobart race this year, and for the Volvo Ocean 60 fleet it will be quite a short stop, but ultimately we're looking long term. We’ve got the race to Hobart but also we've also got the race across the Tasman Sea to Auckland. There are a lot of logistics involved in that for our fleet.

GK (right): The pit stop is a new invention to get closer to the media, to get our faces onto the cameras so I think the idea as such is a very good one, it is always good to try and improve and invent new things. Whether this particular stop is the perfect one I don't know, but we'll give it a go, it's in the rules, and we just follow the rules!
KS: Personally I'd rather go straight to Auckland (!) We did it [the Hobart race] a year ago and it's going to be very interesting as we all encountered a few problems - illbruck did it, News Corp and Assa Abloy, as well as ourselves. The fleet was actually very split by the time we got to Hobart, usually due to
the nature of the race, lots of wind, beating in heavy wind, damage, the lot of it. It'll be a good thing and a bad thing; it really creates a situation where the fleet could get split quite heavily. As Gunnar says, those are the rules and you run with them.

GD: I think everyone would agree with what these guys have said - it's in the rules and you just go with the rules!